Scottish Catholic Observer

THE Irish Government is seeking ‘absolute assurance’ from the Vatican that it will strictly comply with and implement its own guidelines on childcare.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said that ‘where there’s a report that a child has been abused or where there’s a genuine concern that someone within the Church is abusing children,’ it is imperative that it is ‘reported to the civil authorities.’

Frances Fitzgerald (above), minister for children, has confirmed the Irish government is still waiting for a response from the Vatican on the findings of the report on clerical child sex abuse in Cloyne Diocese, Cork, that was published a fortnight ago.

Ms Fitzgerald added that the government had asked for an urgent response to the report’s findings.

“But I would equally say the state has work to do when it comes to providing high-quality care for children,” she added.

The Vatican is expected to respond to the Cloyne Report by the end of this month and the Holy See’s response will come at a time when politicisation of the abuse crisis is at its highest.

Yesterday Irish Senator Cait Keane called for the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin to be postponed following the deterioration in relations between Ireland and the Vatican in the aftermath of the report.

The congress, which is due to be held in June next year, was viewed by many as possibly paving the way for a Papal visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Ireland, the first since Blessed John Paul II’s hugely successful visit in 1979.

Following Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s criticism of the Vatican’s handling of clerical sex abuse cases in Ireland, which led this week to the Papal nuncio to Ireland being recalled to the Vatican, the stension in relations between the Republic and the Holy See have prompted the call for the congress to be delayed.

Echoing the suggestion of an independent group of Irish Catholic clergy, Senator Keane said in the Irish Parliament: “I support the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland’s request to postpone this event as I believe it is not an appropriate time for an event such as the Eucharistic Congress to take place in this country.

“I believe that everyone will be better served, given the sensitivities around the findings of this report, that it be held at a later date,” she added. “The association has over five hundred ordinary priests as members in this country who are not afraid to speak out on the injustices and wrongdoings in the Church, and we must support their efforts to stand up and be counted.”